


Six Letters

by tinyghostie



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Abusive Reginald Hargreeves, Age Regression/De-Aging, Classification AU, Dead Reginald Hargreeves, Dr. Pogo Lives (Umbrella Academy), Gen, Human Grace Hargreeves, Hurt Klaus Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Klaus Hargreeves-centric, Littles Are Known, Luther Hargreeves is trying his best, Luther's a Bit Thick tbh, Non-Sexual Age Play, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Sober Klaus Hargreeves, canon-typical child abuse, little!Klaus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:41:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 9,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27121987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinyghostie/pseuds/tinyghostie
Summary: It was funny how they could ruin your life.
Comments: 51
Kudos: 196





	1. Chapter 1

_“Do you understand what this means?” Reginald jabbed harshly at the piece of paper in his hand. “Well? Do you?”_

_It was funny how six letters could ruin your life. Klaus had known all along, and he was sure his father had too. But that didn’t soften the blow when he opened the envelope with shaking hands and took the thick sheet of paper out, seeing the one small word printed smack-dab in the middle._

_LITTLE_

_“Number four!”_

_Klaus felt a stinging sensation on his face and realised he’d been slapped._

_Reginald shook the piece of paper again. “Do you know that the only reason you have any use to me is the promise that one day you’ll grow out of these childish fears?”_

_Klaus nodded sadly, not trusting his voice._

_“And how do you expect to do that?” Reginald growled. “If you’re so determined to never grow up-”_

_“I’m s-sorry!” Klaus sobbed, another slap resonating around the room._

_“Don’t apologise! ‘Sorry’ means you’ll never do it again. Can you guarantee that you’ll never be a Little? No? Then there’s nothing you can do. This can never get out. You’d make a laughing stock of us.”_

* * *

Klaus jolted awake with a sharp breath, tears threatening to spill over. With shaking legs, he grabbed his blanket and stumbled to the bathroom, then opened the small cabinet, his hand groping about for a familiar white bottle.

It wasn’t there.


	2. Chapter 2

“Foofer?”

Luther frowned and paused, garbage bag in one hand.

“Hello?”

“Feels all bad and sicky.”

It was then that Luther noticed Klaus lying face down in the alley, shirtless and grasping an empty bottle loosely between his fingers. He groaned and threw the garbage away, before hauling the smaller man to his feet.

“Foofer… ‘m really tired.”

“Come on then, you little shit.” He sighed, pulling on Klaus’ hand.

“Not wittle!” Klaus whined suddenly, tearing himself away and stumbling backwards. “Promise, ‘m not!”

Luther rolled his eyes. “Come on then, you _normal-sized shit_.”

“Yeah, ‘m Gen.”

Luther sighed again, too tired to question the Séance’s behaviour. “Yeah, I know. We all are, aren’t we? Except Allison.”

“An’ Pogo’s a Caregiver. ‘n Vanya’s a bit of Caregiver. ‘n Deego’s a bit wittle, but I can’t tell no one.” Klaus mumbled, tripping over his own feet a few times as Luther managed to drag him inside.

“Diego has Little tendencies?” Luther raised an eyebrow.

“Nuh-uh. Didn’t tell no one, or he’s gonna be mad at me.” Klaus shook his head quickly, making himself slightly dizzy.

“I won’t tell him you told me.” Luther gently steered him away from the kitchen.

“No, I wanna say g’night to Mommy!” Klaus whined, as his eyes suddenly filled with tears.

“You’re drunk, Klaus. Mom doesn’t wanna see you like this.” Luther rubbed his forehead. He was so tired. He didn’t have time for Klaus’ shenanigans, he just wanted to sleep.

“Been bad…” Klaus stared at his feet, a salty tear dripping onto his shirt.

“You could put it that way.” Luther sighed. “But I’m sure Mom will want to see you tomorrow morning when you’ve sobered up a bit.”

“Don’t wanna say g’night to Daddy.” Klaus mumbled, chewing nervously on his thumbnail as Luther led him up the stairs.

Luther suddenly grabbed Klaus’ collar and pushed him against the wall. “Dad’s dead, you know that. I don’t know if you think this is funny, but there’s no way you forgot that, no matter how wasted you are.” He snapped.

Klaus’ lip quivered, before he burst into tears, his cheeks becoming darkened with smudged kohl. A light turned on in the hallway behind them.

“Shit, I'm sorry, look, just stop crying, please, I-”

“Luther?” Vanya rushed in, stopping when she saw Klaus curl into a ball, shaking and sobbing.

“Look, I can explain-”

“Just go to bed. You’re tired, I can see that. I’ll handle him.” Vanya sighed.

Luther nodded sheepishly and made a quick exit. Meanwhile, from floor level, Klaus had spotted a small white bottle that had rolled under one of the many trophy cabinets. He reached out for it and hid it away in his pocket before Vanya could see.

“What happened, Klaus?” She asked gently, taking his cold, sweaty hand in her own.

“Been bad, an’ said about how Deego was wittle sometimes, an’ then Foofer said Mommy didn’t wanna see me-”

Vanya frowned. “Klaus, are you a Little?”

Klaus’ eyes widened and he shook his head rapidly. “No, promise, ‘m not! ‘m Gen, just like ‘m meant to be!”

“Alright. Let’s get you to bed then.” Vanya looked sceptical, but it was Klaus’ decision if he wanted her to know, and she respected that, and helped him go to his room. Tucking him in, she noticed a few layers of newspaper already laid out on the bed. “What’s this for?”

Klaus shrugged, turning a little red. “Drawin’.”

“Drawing?” Vanya raised an eyebrow.

“Mmhm.” Klaus nodded. “Gonna draw a real good picture.”

“Well, alright. Don’t keep drawing too late, you need to get some sleep.” Vanya warned him, playing along with his story.

“M’kay.” Klaus pulled the covers right up to his chin. “Leave the fairy lights on, please.”

“Klaus, you know that you can tell me anything, right? I won’t judge you.” Vanya tried.

“You judged me when I started taking the bad medicine.” Klaus pointed out, large hazel eyes staring innocently up at Vanya.

“I don’t think I did. I definitely disapproved, but I didn’t judge you.” Vanya brushed a damp curl off his forehead.

“Oh… ‘m sorry.”

“What for?”

“I dunno…” Klaus sighed, chewing his thumbnail again.

“Get some sleep. You’ll feel better.” Vanya left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar. She didn’t miss the tell-tale pop of a pill bottle opening, and the slight rattle of said pills being taken out.


	3. Chapter 3

“I j-j-just w-wanna be a G-Gen!” Klaus sobbed, his voice muffled by the blanket. He let out another wail and kicked his feet against the mattress. It hurt so bad. Why did it hurt so much? Nobody else had to hurt like this.

“It’s because of the pills, Klaus. The pain would go away if you stopped taking your suppressants.” Ben pointed out. “Or you could at least try and cut down to the recommended dosage.”

Klaus whined through a mouthful of cookie dough. “Nuh-uh.” He shook his head. “Can’t be wittle around Foofer, ‘n Allison, an’ all them. An’ _specially_ not Five.”

“Why don’t you wanna be little around Five, Klausie?”

“He’s a stoopid grownup.” Klaus pouted.

Ben laughed. “What makes him any different to our other siblings?”

“He’s like… _mega_ old. Like, granddad old.” Klaus’ eyes widened as he comprehended just how old Five was.

“And why is that a bad thing? Pogo is old, and he looks after you just fine.” Ben reasoned.

Klaus gave an exasperated sigh. “But Five is _ancient_! And Pogo’s a monkey, he doesn’t count.”

“A chimpanzee, you mean. And why don’t monkeys count?” Ben raised an eyebrow. “Are you being monkey-ist?”

“That’s… that’s not even a thing!” Klaus slammed his hands on his mattress in frustration, biting off another chunk of his cookie dough.

“I’m telling!” Ben teased, racing out of the room.

“Well, I'm not ‘man-er-festing’ you, so you can’t!” Klaus stuck his tongue out.

“Excuse me, Master Klaus, is this a bad time?”

Klaus swallowed down his cookie dough quickly and shrunk back into his blanket a little, embarrassed. It _was_ a bad time, but sometimes Pogo brought snacks when Klaus was small, and he didn’t want to miss out on that opportunity.

He shook his head, cheeks tinting pink.

Pogo took a deep breath. “Well, your doctor called. She said that she can no longer supply you with the suppressant pills you have been taking.”

Klaus thought his heart had stopped in his chest. Suddenly, he was hyperventilating and crying, his shaking fingers desperately grabbing at his blanket. It wasn’t fair! Why did all the bad things happen to him? He didn’t do anything wrong! First, he lost his pills- and now he had to stop taking them! It wasn’t fair! It wasn’t fair at all!

A panic attack turned into a temper tantrum, which turned into soft, helpless sobs.

“Master Klaus, I recommend that you do something to distract yourself. Perhaps read a book, or help your mother make dinner?”

“Too wittle to read. Too stoopid to make dinner.” Klaus grumbled, hitting his ghost plushie against the wall.

“Be gentle with Boo.” Ben said, ducking to avoid the flying plushie when it hurtled in his direction.

“Boo deserves bad things!” Klaus squealed. “He’s a bad ghost!”

“I’m sure Boo didn’t mean to be bad, Master Klaus.” Pogo intervened, picking up the plushie.

“Yeah. ‘s me who’s bad, for hurtin’ him.” Klaus mumbled, making grabby hands for Boo.

Pogo handed him the plushie. “I’m sure he will forgive you. Why don’t you and Boo go and help your mother with dinner?”

Klaus nodded, checking that the coast was clear in the hallway before grabbing his cookie dough and running downstairs quickly. He couldn’t let any of his siblings see him like this. It was fun. Like a game, almost. A constant game of hide and seek with his family.

Grace was in the kitchen, putting the lasagne in the oven. It smelled good, and Klaus’ mood improved immediately.

“Mommy… can I help?” He mumbled, suddenly shy.

“Sure! Wash your hands first.” Grace informed him, and he happily skipped over to the sink to wash his hands, getting Boo a little wet in the process.

While Klaus helped Grace make the trifle for dessert, Pogo went back to Reginald’s study. He was surprised to see Vanya rummaging through the files.

“Might I be witnessing the first time you’ve ever broken a rule, Miss Vanya?” Pogo smiled warmly to let her know she wasn’t in any serious trouble.

She blushed. “I’m looking for the classification files. I need to check something.”

“Surely you haven’t forgotten your classification. That’s rather unlike you, Miss Vanya.” Pogo walked over to the filing cabinet she was standing by.

“No, I know _my_ classification.” Vanya laughed a little guiltily, looking at the floor. “I have to know someone else’s though. It’s a matter of health and safety over anything else.”

“I’m not permitted to tell you any information regarding your siblings’ classifications.” Pogo informed her, and her face fell. “However, your father never said I couldn’t tell you that the classification files aren’t housed in this particular cabinet.”

“Did Dad say you could tell me which one they’re in?” Vanya asked, looking a little more hopeful.

Pogo looked thoughtful. “Well, if it’s a matter of health and safety… this one.”

Vanya opened the cabinet. A thick, yellow manilla folder was right at the front. She opened the folder and pulled out the documents inside, including the large, white confirmation card.

HARGREEVES, VANYA: CLASSIFIED, GENERAL (CAREGIVER TENDENCIES)

HARGREEVES, LUTHER: CLASSIFIED, GENERAL (REG)

HARGREEVES, FIVE (WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN): [CLASSIFICATION UNKNOWN, ASSUMED GENERAL (REG)]

HARGREEVES, ALLISON: CLASSIFIED, CAREGIVER (REG)

HARGREEVES, DIEGO: CLASSIFIED, GENERAL (LITTLE TENDENCIES, [NO CURRENT MEDICATION])

HARGREEVES, BEN (DECEASED): [CLASSIFICATION UNKNOWN, ASSUMED GENERAL (CAREGIVER TENDENCIES)]

HARGREEVES, KLAUS: CLASSIFIED, LITTLE (REG, [CURRENT MEDICATION: SUPPRESSANT PILLS, 150MG DAILY])

Vanya’s suspicions were confirmed. Yes, Klaus was a Little. And yes, he was taking a dangerous number of pills to suppress these tendencies.

“Pogo, tell me someone’s been looking after Klaus.” Vanya turned around slowly.

“Grace and I try our best to, but he rarely accepts help.” Pogo admitted. “You must understand that he’s very ashamed of his classification.”

Suddenly, she heard a yell from downstairs and ran to the entrance hall.

“I wan’ it!” Klaus stomped his foot.

“Klaus, you are not permitted to eat any of the trifle until after your dinner.” Grace told him again.

Klaus stuck his tongue out and grabbed the bowl, running upstairs and pushing past Vanya and Pogo.

Pogo sighed. “I fear that he may expose himself.”

“We’re all fairly accepting.” Vanya sat down on the stairs. “I guess Dad just managed to get it into his head that being a Little is a bad thing.”

“I would imagine that’s exactly what happened.”


	4. Chapter 4

Klaus’ suppressants had started to kick in just as he was finishing the trifle. Now he was in pain from the suppressants, pain from being full of an entire trifle, and pain from the realisation that Vanya probably figured out what was up with him.

There was a knock at the door.

“Come in.” Klaus mumbled, only just loud enough for Vanya to hear.

“You left this little guy in the kitchen. Mom told me to bring him for you.” Vanya placed Boo on the end of the bed.

“You know, don’t you?” Klaus sighed.

“About what?”

“Don’t play dumb.” Klaus threw a dart at the dartboard on his wall with terrible aim, missing the photo of Reginald he had pinned to it in a moment of teenage angst many years ago.

“About you being…?”

“Dad’s favourite disappointment?” Klaus cracked a smile despite how awful he was feeling. Sobriety was a bitch sometimes.

“Oh please, I think we can both agree that _I'm_ Dad’s favourite disappointment.” Vanya smirked, making Klaus giggle quietly. “But yes. I know that you’re a… a Little.”

“I don’t really hide it well, huh?” Klaus sighed and threw another dart, this time hitting his closet.

“I don’t know about that. Five hasn’t noticed, and he’s the most observant of all of us.”

“Five was missing for years. He wasn’t there for the first years before I could get suppressants.” Klaus admitted.

“Well, neither has Diego-”

“I told Diego.”

“Well, neither have Allison, or Luther-”

“Luther wouldn’t notice if I got it tattooed on my forehead.” Klaus grinned and went to collect his darts.

Vanya laughed quietly at this, knowing it was probably true. “If you ever need someone to be little around, you know I’m available most of the time, right? If I’m not at violin practice or giving anyone lessons. We could go to the park sometime, if you want.”

“I know… it’s just… I’m not…” Klaus took a deep breath. “I’m not really ready to be l-little in front of anyone yet. I… I know I’ll p-probably fuck up and end up slipping soon, anyway. They’ve s-stopped manufacturing my suppressants. I only h-hope I'm too small to understand when the others f-find out.”

“Do you want me to get you anything?” Vanya asked.

Klaus shrugged. “Antacids would be nice. That whole trifle doesn’t feel so yummy now it’s inside me.”

“Sure, but I meant like… do you need any Little gear?” Vanya picked up the empty trifle bowl.

“Did Mom make another dessert for you guys?” Klaus asked, concerned.

“Don’t avoid the question.” Vanya smiled to let him know that anything he said wouldn’t be judged. “You used to do this all the time when we were kids.”

“Old habits, I guess.” Klaus fidgeted with a loose thread on the hem of his shirt.

“Still avoiding the question.”

Klaus looked a little guilty. “No, I think I’ll be okay. For the time being.”

That didn’t stop Vanya going to the Little store in the centre of town and picking out a black, glittery pacifier for him. The pacifier found its way onto Klaus’ nightstand, and was waiting for him when he came back from brushing his teeth.

He picked it up and smiled. It really was a lovely colour, and the glitter just completed the look perfectly. Klaus had always wondered how they got the glitter _inside_ the plastic.

Nobody was watching.

“Go for it. You’ll fuck up your teeth sucking your thumb, anyway.” Ben commented from a corner where Klaus hadn’t seen him lurking.

“I don’t need your input.” Klaus rolled his eyes and slipped the pacifier into his mouth, before climbing into bed and falling into a deep, dreamless sleep for the first time in what must have been years.


	5. Chapter 5

Klaus woke up, cringing at the feeling of wet pyjama shorts sticking to his legs, and made his way downstairs to the laundry room. One of the machines was already running.

“You too, huh?” Diego gave a shy, sympathetic smile.

Klaus nodded and loaded his clothes into the washing machine.

“No sheets?” Diego noted.

“They didn’t get wet. I put newspaper down.” Klaus told him.

“Ah, see; this is the kind of smart thinking this country needs.” Diego nudged Klaus’ shoulder, making his brother smile slightly.

“How long’s it been for you, then? Six months since last time?” Klaus turned the machine on.

“Possibly more. You?” Diego took his sheets out of the washing machine and loaded them into the dryer.

“All of forty-eight hours, more or less.” Klaus sighed. “I barely even woke up this time. Vanya got me a pacifier and I slept like a baby- no pun intended.”

“Vanya knows?” Diego raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah. She knows about you, too. B-but she went through the files. I d-didn’t tell her.” Klaus added quickly, before Diego could get mad at him. Not like he could be mad at Klaus for long. It was hard to be mad at him with those big, hazel eyes and innocent smile.

“Well, as long as you’re sure you didn’t tell anyone…”

“I m-might have told Luther.” Klaus mumbled, not able to lie to his brother. “B-but I was just a tiny baby, and you can’t blame a tiny baby for telling Luther a teeny tiny secret!”

“I can if it’s Luther. And I know for a fact that your Little age is three to four. Tiny baby, my ass.” Diego gently ruffled Klaus’ messy curls.

“You never know. I could get littler now that they’ve stopped manufacturing my suppressants.”

“They’re bad for you anyway. How much weight did you say you’ve lost this year?”

“About twenty pounds. It’s nothing much.” Klaus took his own clothes out of the washing machine and put them in another dryer. “I’ve been eating my own weight in cookie dough when I’m Little, so it balances out.”

“That can’t be healthy.” Diego furrowed his brows.

“I guess.” Klaus sighed. “Those dumb bullies who told us Littles had it easy… they were pretty wrong, huh?”

* * *

_“G-give it b-back!” Diego yelled, one hand hovering over the knife in his back pocket._

_“What? Are you a baby just like your brother?” The taller girl taunted._

_“N-no!” Diego protested. “I haven’t even been classified yet!”_

_“Well, you won’t mind me throwing this old thing away, then!” The short, ugly girl dangled Boo over the railings at the edge of the bridge._

_Klaus slipped a thumb into his mouth and closed his eyes, trying to drown out the noise of the ghosts that were joining in and jeering at him._

_“You’re g-going to regret this!” Diego lunged at the girl, who dropped the plushie out of surprise. Klaus let out a pained yelp._

_Diego was thankful that he didn’t need to breathe underwater, because the river was deeper than imagined, and Boo was oddly heavy for a small plushie. The short girl pushed Klaus to the ground and walked away, the tall girl spitting on him before following after her friend._

_Klaus began to cry, the ghosts louder than ever now that his only comfort item had been taken from him. Diego crawled onto the riverbank, gasping for air and clutching a small, bedraggled ghost plushie in his hand._

_“Number two! Number four! What do you have to say for yourselves?” Reginald hissed when he saw the state they were in. Diego’s fringe was sopping wet and his clothes were ripped and soaked. Klaus had blood on his knees from where he’d been pushed, and his uniform was covered in mud._

_“W-we’re very s-s-sorry, sir, s-some g-g-girls were m-making fun of Klaus’ c-classification-” Diego explained, but Reginald wasn’t having any of that._

_“Number four hasn’t been classified. And even if he had, it would be irresponsible of him to go parading it around like that. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”_

* * *

Klaus laughed softly.

“What?” Diego looked up from the floor.

“I just realised… your name is Diego, right? And your girlfriend’s name is Eudora.” Klaus grinned.

“And?” Diego wasn’t sure where this is going.

“It’s Eudora the Explorer and Go Diego Go!” Klaus giggled loudly, probably waking up half the house.

“Very mature.” Diego rolled his eyes, badly concealing a smirk, took his sheets out of the dryer and headed towards the door. “You gonna be alright down here on your own?”

Klaus nodded. “I have a lot of experience.”

“Alright, buddy. See ya in the morning.”


	6. Chapter 6

_“Daaave?”_

_“Davieeeeeee?”_

_“Ugh, what time is it?”_

_“Katz, get up, I think your little brat pissed the bed again.”_

_“Alright, I'm coming.”_

_“Why’d they even let a Little enlist?”_

_“He didn’t enlist, he just turned up.”_

_Klaus hung his head slightly and fidgeted in his wet sheets. He didn’t do it on purpose! It wasn’t his fault he was stuck in a dumb, scary war! He wanted to be at home, with Boo, and his family._

_He felt a cold hand on his back and looked up._

_“C’mon buddy, let’s get you cleaned up.”_

_Klaus smiled sadly, licking a tear off his lip. He liked Dave. He felt bad though, because Dave wasn’t a caregiver, and it wasn’t fair to force him to look after him._

_“You have another nightmare?” Dave asked as he flipped the shabby, worn mattress over._

_Klaus shifted uncomfortably again, nodding shyly as Dave helped Klaus strip off his soaked cargo pants and replaced them with a clean pair._

_“You gonna be okay, Klausie?” Dave tucked him back in. “Need you to be a big, brave boy for me tomorrow.”_

_“I don’ like the bangs.” Klaus mumbled, feeling his cheeks heat up. What sort of a soldier was he if he was afraid of loud noises?_

_“I know, little dude.” Dave turned the small light off. “And I’m super proud of you for being brave and going out there.”_

_“When’s it all gonna be over?” Klaus pulled the sheets right up to his chin._

_“Soon. Very soon.”_

* * *

Vanya was woken by the sound of screaming, at around six in the morning. This wasn’t an unusual event, but she sprung out of bed anyway and bumped into Diego in the hallway.

“Is that Klaus?” She asked him.

Diego nodded. “Get me a glass of milk, quick.”

Vanya quickly ran down the stairs and fetched a glass of milk from the kitchen, then went back upstairs and found the door to Klaus’ room slightly ajar. She gingerly opened it and was relieved to see that Diego was already in there.

Klaus was sitting on the edge of the bed, sobbing into Diego’s chest, soaked in his own sweat and pee.

“Shh, calm down. Good boy. Look, Auntie Vanya’s brought you some milk.” Diego gently rubbed Klaus’ back as the Little’s lip trembled.

Klaus choked slightly on the milk as he struggled to control his breathing long enough to drink it.

“You’re doing so well. Do you wanna tell me about the… the nightmare?” Diego asked softly, and Klaus shook his head. “Alright. No problem.”

“N-need new PJs.” Klaus mumbled and hid his face behind his blanket, embarrassed.

“I know, buddy. We’ll get that sorted out for you, okay?” Diego told him. “Vanya, can you grab some pyjamas out of his closet?”

Vanya nodded and found some grey pyjamas, as well as Klaus’ glittery pacifier. “Does he need this?”

“Mm.” Klaus made grabby hands for the pacifier.

“Can you tell me how old you are, bud?” Diego helped Klaus change into the clean, dry pyjamas then threw away the wet newspaper he’d covered his bed with.

“This many.” Klaus held up two trembling fingers.

“That’s really big.” Vanya commented, and Klaus’ face lit up.

“Klaus, you know your… your special pills? The ones that help you feel big?” Diego started, and Klaus nodded. “Can you tell me how many of those you have left?”

“All gone.” Klaus mumbled unhappily around his pacifier.

Diego and Vanya exchanged a knowing look before they were both startled to see Allison appear in the doorway. Klaus darted under his blanket again, letting out a small squeal.

“I’m sorry, I should’ve knocked.” Allison then lowered her voice. “Is he… a Little?”

“Not wittle!” Klaus whined from under the blanket, curling himself up into a tiny ball as if he were trying to make himself so small he’d disappear.

“Of course not, how silly of me to think that.” Allison said. “Diego, a word?”

Diego followed her out of the room while Vanya tried to coax their little brother out from under the blanket.

“How long have you known about this?” Allison asked.

“He told me when we were classified.” Diego admitted.

“I thought you were all General.” Allison said, slightly offended.

“Shame your CG radar didn’t go off.” Diego said sarcastically and made to go back into Klaus’ room.

“Wait, Diego.” Allison stopped him. “I keep a few Little supplies in my room, if you need any help.”

“We don’t need help.” Diego lied.

“Yeah, because Gens with Little tendencies make such great caregivers.”

“Y-you take that back. Wait, how did you know about that anyway?” Diego turned slightly pink.

“You suck your thumb when you sleep. Ever noticed that?” Allison turned to go back to her room.

“W-wait, Allison.” Diego sighed. “Th-those Little supplies you were talking about?”


	7. Chapter 7

It had only been a few days, and Dave had started to realise that this strange man seemed very… out of place. Not only did he appear from seemingly nowhere, but he had some other… quirks, that Dave hadn’t seen in anyone before. He kept asking for ‘suppressants’, whatever those were, and ­­he was sure he heard him crying at night.

On the third night, Dave confronted him.

“Klaus? You alright?” He sat on the end of the bed.

Klaus nodded nervously, and Dave noticed that he was shaking.

“Hey, don’t be scared, buddy.” He assured him.

“C-can’t do it anymore.” Klaus mumbled.

“Do what?”

“Be big. ‘s not fun anymore.” Klaus kicked his foot against the ground.

“You’re a Little?” Dave was shocked and concerned. He didn’t know Littles were even allowed to enlist. “H-how did you convince them to let you join?”

“I didn’t. ‘m here on sneaky.” Klaus whispered.

“Sneaky?” Dave almost laughed.

“Mmhm. Secret. Shh.” Klaus nodded.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell.”


	8. Chapter 8

Allison, Vanya, and Diego finally managed to coax Klaus out of bed by lunchtime. However, they now had another problem on their hands. Luther had insisted on doing a bit of spring cleaning (his latest obsession- he’d finally given up on the lost cause that was his sewing project) and Klaus was terrified of the vacuum cleaner.

Diego had managed to hurry Klaus out of the house while Allison and Vanya desperately searched for daycare centres near them. There were daycare centres for children, daycare centres for Littles, daycare centres for both children and Littles, daycare centres open until midnight, daycare centres with dormitories, daycare centres where Caregivers could stay for coffee and biscuits, and daycare centres with huge indoor play areas.

“Find one where we can stay and watch him. His headspace is too damaged for him to be left alone for a long time.” Allison added.

“Go for Tiny Paws. They have longer opening hours and larger equipment than most places, and they have a Caregivers’ Café overlooking the soft play area.”

Everyone turned to look at Diego.

“I-I’ve been there a couple times, alright? Patch gets busy sometimes, what with her having a job and everything.” Diego mumbled, turning a little red.

“I guess we’ll head there then.” Allison pocketed her phone again and they climbed into Diego’s car, using pillows as a makeshift car seat for Klaus.

The daycare centre had a playground at the front where some Littles were already playing, and Klaus clung to Diego’s sleeve when he saw them, holding Boo close to his face.

“It’s okay, buddy. Hang in there.” Diego gently rubbed Klaus’ arm.

A friendly looking older woman in a pink apron led them inside. “It’s nice to see you again, Diego!” She turned to Allison, Klaus, and Vanya. “I’m Agnes, and this is my Little, Hazel. He’s a little too old for the daycare, but he helps out on our busier days.”

A Little wearing a baseball cap and a red backpack waved at them, and Allison waved back. Klaus raised a tentative hand as if he was going to wave back, but hesitated.

“Who’s this little sweetheart?” Agnes gave Klaus a reassuring look.

“This is Klaus. He’s our brother.” Diego explained. “Our other brother is doing some housework today, and we thought we’d bring him here to get away from all the noise.”

“Ah, I see.” Agnes smiled. “And who’s the little ghost?”

“Boo.” Klaus mumbled.

“What a lovely name. Are both you boys staying today?” Agnes asked, picking up a pale pink clipboard and sparkly pen.

“Just Klaus today. Uh, Allison… do you wanna stay with Klaus, and Vanya and I can go to the store?” Diego suggested.

“Sure. Is it alright if I stick around to watch him? He’s got a very damaged headspace and some mental health issues, and this is his first time off suppressants.” Allison signed the sheet attached to the clipboard.

“Of course! I’m sorry to hear about his headspace. Although, I hear they can heal fast when they’re his age. Is there anything we could do to accommodate his mental health problems?” Agnes took the clipboard back.

“He’s just a little sensitive to loud noises.” Diego explained.

“Well, we do have a quiet room for if he gets overwhelmed or just needs to take a break.” Agnes added one last note to the paper before putting it away in a pastel yellow filing cabinet decorated with stickers of bees and daisies. “Now, the current activity is outdoor play, but that’s more of a recommendation than anything, really.”

“Klaus likes to play outdoors, don’t you?” Allison asked as Diego and Vanya waved before leaving for the store.

Klaus hesitantly nodded and hid behind Allison’s arm.

“Well, you can play in the playground, or the basketball court, or there’s a group planting seeds in the garden.” Agnes led them into the playground. It was a little noisy, but it was a friendly sort of noise. Klaus could hear the Littles playing, as well as the birds and sounds of nature. He settled down to play with some trucks in the sandbox. Maybe this wouldn’t be so scary after all.

Hazel sat down next to him. “What’s your name?”

“Klaus.” Klaus said nervously.

“That’s an awesome name. I think it’s ‘cos it’s got ‘K’ in it. The best names have letters like ‘K’ and ‘X’ and ‘Z’.” Hazel pulled two toy monster trucks, one green and one blue, out of his backpack.

“Your name has ‘Z’.” Klaus observed.

“Yeah, but it’s a _girl’s_ name.” Hazel laughed and scooped up some of the sand to make a ramp for his trucks.

Klaus let out a yelp as he saw a caterpillar crawl near to him.

“Don’t be scared. Agnes always says nature is our friend.” Hazel let the caterpillar crawl onto his hand.

“Don’ like it. ‘s got lots of legs.” Klaus whined.

“It’s scared of you, too. It doesn’t want to hurt you.” Hazel explained, letting the caterpillar crawl from his right hand to his left hand.

“Why’s he scared of me? I’m not gonna hurt him!” Klaus cocked his head on one side to look at the caterpillar.

“That’s probably just what the caterpillar is thinking. Do you wanna hold it?” Hazel asked.

Klaus hesitantly nodded and put his hand near Hazel’s so the caterpillar could crawl onto it. He laughed. “It tickles!”

“See, not so scary anymore!” Hazel pointed out. “Like your ghost stuffie. Ghosts are scary at first, but then you see he’s just a toy.”

“Boo is the least scary ghost.” Klaus explained. “He keeps the other bad ghosts away.”

“Oh. Do you have ghosts where you live?” Hazel took a dog stuffie out of his bag and gently stroked its ears.

Klaus nodded.

“Is it a super old house? Like a mansion?” Hazel asked.

“Yeah! Just like that.” Klaus confirmed.

“That explains it. You always see ghosts in big old houses in movies. Do you like scary movies?”

Klaus shook his head.

“I only watch them sometimes. And I turn them off when they’re too scary.” Hazel told him.

“No ghosts here though.” Klaus pointed out.

“It wouldn’t be a very good daycare if it had _ghosts_ in it. Everyone would just be scared.” Hazel laughed.

“Ghosts are super scary.” Klaus agreed. “Except Ben. Ben’s just annoying.”

“Who’s Ben?” Hazel asked.

“A ghost who’s also my brother.” Klaus explained.

“Like an imaginary friend?” Hazel furrowed his eyebrows.

“I guess.” Klaus sighed, giving the caterpillar back. “There you go.”

“You must be really brave to live in a house with ghosts.” Hazel said. “I’d be so scared I’d pee my pants!”

“I do pee my pants sometimes. But only at night.” Klaus admitted, his cheeks turning pink.

“That’s understandable.” Hazel shrugged.

Allison sat down next to them, holding a mug of coffee. “Did you make a friend?”

Klaus nodded proudly.

“Are you Klaus’ Caregiver?” Hazel asked, letting the caterpillar crawl up his arm to his elbow.

“I’m his sister, Allison. He doesn’t really have a Caregiver yet.” Allison explained.

“I’m Hazel. This is a caterpillar.” Hazel showed Allison the caterpillar.

“I can see that. Klaus, aren’t you afraid of bugs?” Allison looked confused.

“Not anymore. Hazel showed me that they’re not so scary. Not caterpillars, at least. I still don’t like spiders.” Klaus shuddered at the thought, holding Boo a little tighter.

Hazel laughed. “Yeah, spiders aren’t like other bugs. They’re ‘a-rach-nids’.” He pronounced the word slowly. “It’s okay to be scared of _arachnids_.”

“I wonder how Vanya and Diego are getting on at the store.” Allison gently combed her fingers through Klaus’ soft curls.

“Probably causing trouble.” Klaus laughed and flicked a bit of sand off of Boo’s face.


	9. Chapter 9

Meanwhile at the Little store, Diego had managed to get the buckles on his harness caught on someone else’s shopping cart. Not needing the stress, he just unbuckled the whole thing and said, “keep it”, before running to catch up with Vanya, leaving the confused shopper staring at the garment now entangled in his cart.

“So, what’s on the list?” Diego asked.

“I’m not too sure. He already has Boo and a pacifier, but I think that’s all he has.” Vanya sighed, glancing at the list.

“Looks like we need- holy shit, how much stuff does he need?” Diego’s eyes widened.

“How old did you say his headspace is?” Vanya asked.

“It’s hard to tell. His IDCR says he’s three to four, but I know Dad told him to lie during his IDCR test. He’s usually secretive and keeps himself to himself when he ages down, but I know he wets the bed and speaks in short sentences.” Diego explained.

“Let’s assume between two and five, just to be safe. If he’s speaking in sentences, he’s most likely in the toddler age range, and he didn’t seem to have any trouble walking.” Vanya wrote a note down at the top of the list. “I noticed he likes soft, sweet foods like cookie dough and trifle.”

“Yeah, that’s more of a toddler thing.” Diego looked around the aisle. “Should we get him any more pacifiers? If there’s one thing I know about Klaus, it’s that he loses _everything_.”

Vanya picked up a pack of three pacifiers- pastel blue, baby pink and mint green- and added them to the basket.

“Rocking chair?” Diego almost dropped the list. “Where the fuck are we gonna find- there’s one back at the house, right?”

“I’m sure there’s one somewhere.” Vanya assured him. “What about bath toys?”

Diego found a mesh bag containing small, pink and blue rubber narwhals. “Do these squirt water?”

“Probably. Is that a good thing?” Vanya put the toys in the basket.

“Given the ability to squirt water, I imagine he could inflict all sorts of damage upon the bathroom. But hey, that’s Pogo’s problem, not ours.” Diego shrugged and looked at the list again.

“Do you think he’s in the right age range for a high chair?” Vanya glanced at the list.

“It’s a moot point. He hates being restrained. You remember the seatbelt ordeal this morning.” Diego’s eyes scanned the paper in his hand. “Here’s the real question. Bottles or sippy cups?”

“Let’s get both. Then he can choose, and if he has a varying Little age, he can alternate depending on how he’s feeling.” Vanya said.

“Ah, what I’d give for Primary Caregiver Instincts…” Diego chuckled and threw a couple of bottles in the basket, as well as some red, blue and green sippy cups.

The next few items were easy. A soft, unicorn patterned blanket was added to the basket, as well as a nightlight shaped like a star, and some plastic forks and spoons. While they were in the food aisle, they also picked up plastic bowls and plates, and a cute mug with dinosaurs on.

“A crib? There’s no way he’ll sleep in a crib.” Diego admitted, looking at the list. “He’s been in prison. The bars will freak him out.”

“He’s too old for a crib anyway. Maybe we should just get a guard rail for his bed.” Vanya put a blue guard rail in the basket, then crossed ‘crib?’ off the list. “Do you think he’ll tolerate a car seat?”

“Probably not. But we could get a pillow for him to sit on, like this morning.” Diego picked up a baby blue pillow with little cartoon puppies on.

The final item on the list was the most challenging.

“Diapers or training pants.” Vanya read.

“Yeah, he’ll never let us put him in a diaper.” Diego bit his lip. “From what I can gather, he’s mostly potty trained, but he still wets the bed every night.”

“Maybe we should just get some absorbent bed mats then. He’s already using newspaper, and they would do the same job. I don’t see any reason he’d object to them.” Vanya held up a package of bed mats. “Excuse me, how much liquid do these hold?”

“Do I look like I use ‘em? I dunno, check the packet.” The employee continued putting products on the shelves.

Diego ignored him and put the package in the basket. “Maybe we should get some diapers too, just in case.”

“Alright. What’s his waist size?” Vanya scanned the shelves.

“32 inches, I think.” Diego grabbed a packet of diapers off the shelf. “What d’you think- rocket ships and stars sound alright?”

“I think that should be fine. He’s not Luther, after all.” Vanya agreed.

Diego almost passed out when he heard how much all this was going to be, but Vanya reminded him that a lot of the items were one-time purchases, and they wouldn’t have to buy another until Klaus inevitably broke or wore out the item.

They nearly broke a window in the car while trying to get the guard rail into the trunk, and almost broke someone else’s during their second attempt. This led to a heated argument between Diego and a middle-aged man with a green baseball cap and a beer gut, while Vanya filled the remaining space in the trunk with the rest of their purchases.

When they eventually drove away, leaving the man screaming and gesturing frantically to his clearly unbroken window, Diego breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn’t a Caregiver. He’d fought criminals with knives and guns, and yet he still almost got himself killed in the parking lot of a Little store.

There was a buzzing sound, and he answered his phone. “Hello?”

“Could you try to get here as quickly as you can? I just texted Luther and he says he’s finished cleaning, and I think Klaus is ready to come home.”

Allison’s tone was calm so as not to worry him, but Diego could unmistakably hear Klaus crying in the background. “Sure thing.”

“Is he okay?” Vanya asked, concerned.

“I don’t know. We need to get there fast.”


	10. Chapter 10

_“Snap out of it, Number Four! You are a grown man!”_

_Klaus felt the sharp sting as Reginald slapped him, hard._

_“Please! ‘m not! ‘m just… ‘m just fwee.” He whimpered._

_“You are nineteen years old!” Another slap._

_“Please… Dad…”_

* * *

“Klaus! Look at me, honey. That’s it. Good boy.” Allison didn’t know what triggered the flashback, but she knew it was a ‘Dad flashback’. She’d somewhat learnt to tell the difference between ‘Dad flashbacks’ and ‘Dave flashbacks’.

“What’s wrong?” Hazel asked innocently.

“Sometimes Klaus’ mind… goes back to bad things that have happened. And he has to relive those things. It’s not nice, but he’s usually fine after a while.” Allison explained.

“Like a dream?” Hazel put his dog stuffie back in his backpack.

“More like a nightmare. But they happen while he’s awake.” Allison told him.

“Oh. Does he need to go to the quiet room?” Hazel asked.

“That would be really helpful, thank you.” Allison followed him to the quiet room. It had a soft, spongy floor and some red-orange lights which made the room seem warmer. There were a few toys such as fidget cubes and playdough, and lots of cushions.

Klaus seemed to return to the present day, and started crying. Allison put her arms around him and tried to calm him down. “Shh, that’s it. You’re okay. You’re okay.”

Hazel ran back to the playground to fetch Boo, and handed him to Klaus, who immediately nestled his face into the soft plushie.

“Hazel, I need to make a phone call. Do you think you could stay here and look after Klaus?” Allison asked, pulling her phone out.

Hazel nodded eagerly.

“Alright. If he asks for me, don’t be afraid to come and get me.” She said, before stepping outside the quiet room and texting Luther, finding that he had finished cleaning five minutes ago. She dialled Diego’s number.

“Could you try to get here as quickly as you can? I just texted Luther and he says he’s finished cleaning, and I think Klaus is ready to come home.”

“Sure thing.” Diego sounded worried, and Allison wondered whether he had heard Klaus crying.

“Mrs Allison, Klaus peed his pants.” Hazel said.

“That’s alright, I’m coming.” Allison put her phone away and went back into the quiet room, where Klaus had thankfully calmed down a bit. “How are you doing, sweetie?”

“D-Dad was… was…” Klaus sniffled and held Boo tighter.

“Oh, poor baby… I know… I know.” Allison gently stroked his matted curls.

Five minutes later, Diego opened the door. “Hey, buddy. How you holding up?”

“Deego!” Klaus smiled weakly.

“Is everything alright?” Vanya appeared in the doorway behind him.

“Klaus freaked out ‘cos he had a daytime nightmare, so I brought him to the quiet room an’ now he’s okay!” Hazel said proudly.

“Great job, man.” Diego high-fived him and turned to Klaus, noting his wet pants. “You doing okay, Klausie?”

Klaus nodded, sniffling slightly.

“Time to get you home, yeah?” Diego picked the taller man up and carried him back to the car.


	11. Chapter 11

Once Vanya checked that the coast was clear, they all rushed Klaus upstairs into the bathroom. The kitchen would have been preferable, with its mellow atmosphere and soundproofing due to it being in the basement, but Klaus desperately needed a bath, and past experience proved that bathing had a calming effect on him.

Klaus quickly objected to the bath idea, until Diego showed him the new bath toys.

“Deego! Unicorns!” Klaus flapped his hands excitedly, and Diego’s face lit up, glad that his little brother approved of the toys.

“Yeah, narwhals! Like unicorns from the sea, right?” Allison examined the little rubber creatures when she entered holding a couple of soft towels. “These are really cute, where did you get them?”

“They had them at the Little store.” Vanya said.

Klaus looked at the bath toys, then the towels, then the bathtub behind him, and seemed to put the pieces together in his head. “No bath!”

Diego sighed. “Why not, buddy?”

“Wet, an’ cold, an’ I don’t wanna be all nakeds in front of all the girls, a-an’ I don’t wanna take a bath!” Klaus started to cry again.

His siblings panicked, knowing that if Luther heard, there’d be trouble. Even worse would be if Five heard, because he’d be inside the bathroom before they had chance to explain.

Diego gently shushed him. “We can ask Allison and Vanya to go outside if you don’t want them to see you naked. I promise the bath won’t be cold, but I'm not sure there’s anything I can do about it being wet.”

Klaus’ lip trembled. “D-don’t wanna…”

Diego held his hands. “No, shh, shh, don’t cry. Please don’t cry. Don’t cry. Look, buddy, you gotta have a bath, you’re covered in pee.”

“Am not!” Klaus whined. “W-was just an accident.”

Diego sighed. “I know, buddy. And it’s okay to have accidents sometimes, that’s fine. Especially if you’re scared or if you have a flashback like you did earlier. But we need to get you clean. You don’t wanna be all icky, do you?”

Klaus shook his head.

“I promise it’ll be the quickest bath in the world. And then you can come downstairs and watch a movie, and get into your pyjamas, and maybe even have some chocolate cake.” Diego began to fill the bath.

Klaus looked thoughtful. “Deego, can I… can I… puts the unicorns in?”

“The narwhals? Yeah, sure, buddy. Go ahead.” Diego grinned, glad that Klaus was at least showing an interest in the bath.

“Do you want us to go outside while you take your bath?” Vanya asked.

Klaus shrugged, enthusiastically throwing the rubber narwhals into the water, while Diego added bubbles.

“Could you go and grab one of his new sleepers? They’re in the yellow plastic bag in his room.” Diego said, suddenly going still and quiet.

Vanya nodded and quickly left the room.

Allison looked at him, concerned, before she realised what was happening. “Diego, are you…?”

“No.” Diego shook his head, poking at the foam that was quickly filling the bathtub.

“It’s okay if you’re slipping.” Allison said.

“No, ‘s fine, ‘m not.” Diego mumbled, turning back to Klaus. “Alright, buddy, time to get you into the bath.”

Klaus reluctantly pulled his clothes off, having a bit of trouble with the buttons, and stepped into the water.

“You’ll damage your headspace if you try to hold it in.” Allison lowered her voice.

Diego looked at her uncertainly.

“Are these the sleepers you were talking about?” Vanya held up two new sleepers: a yellow one with puppies, and a pastel blue one with dinosaurs.

“Puppy!” Klaus squealed excitedly from the bath.

“Yeah, you like the puppy?” Diego was relieved that Klaus liked his choice of sleeper.

“Mhm! And dinos!” Klaus nodded, making grabby hands for the pyjamas.

“Woah, buddy, not with wet hands. Let’s get you nice and dry, okay?” Diego helped his brother step out of the bath and Allison wrapped him in a towel.

Once he was dry, they realised that there was one hurdle they’d forgotten they were going to have to face.

Diego took a deep breath and turned to face the younger man. “Klaus… what do you wanna… what kind of underwear do you wanna wear?”

Klaus hesitated. “Red.” He said firmly, looking proud of himself for remembering his colours so well.

“No, honey, that’s… not what Diego meant.” Allison intervened, seeing the frustrated and awkward expression on Diego’s face.

Klaus looked confused. “What did Deego meant instead?”

Allison sighed. “Sweetie, do you wanna wear a diaper?”

Klaus looked offended. “No! ‘m not a baby, ‘m a big boy!”

“I know you’re a big boy, but you still have accidents sometimes, and that’s okay.” Allison told him.

Klaus whined.

“Boxers it is, I guess.” Allison turned to Diego.

“Or I have some cute, cartoony underwear you could wear.” Diego offered, fishing a pair of red and white Paw Patrol briefs out of the plastic bag that Vanya had brought.

“Marshall!” Klaus made grabby hands, and Diego dressed him in the underwear, then the dinosaur sleeper.

Managing to sneak him downstairs as stealthily as possible, they turned the TV on to some cartoon channel, and Grace brought him a slice of chocolate cake, just as they had promised.

And for about five minutes, it seemed like everything was going to be okay.


	12. Chapter 12

Diego could have sworn he only turned his back for a second, and already Klaus was missing. Rather than go to Allison and Vanya, and admit that he lost their brother, he opted to search the entire house, with no luck. Eventually, Vanya noticed that he was gone.

“Diego, where’s Klaus?” She asked, looking around, confused.

“I-in the bathroom?” Diego suggested hopelessly.

“He’s barely even potty trained. You lost him, didn’t you?” Allison sighed.

Diego gave a sheepish nod, and was about to defend himself when he heard his cell phone ring.

“Diego?”

“Mommy!” Diego squealed excitedly, before remembering that Allison and Vanya were still in the room. “Uh… hi, Eudora.”

“Did you guys by any chance lose a stoned little boy who answers to 'Klaus'? There’s one wandering around my office trying to arrest himself.”

“For what? Running away?” Diego pulled a face.

“He squished a ladybug. Can you come and pick him up?”

“Yeah, we’ll be right there.” Diego said, pocketing his phone. “Sounds like someone aged up, then ran away to buy drugs, and is now trying to arrest himself for stepping on a ladybug.”

“That does sound like him.” Allison agreed, grabbing her coat.

When they arrived at the station, Diego could hardly contain his excitement about getting to see Patch again, and he nearly aged down instantly upon seeing her. He didn’t think he’d been holding in his

headspace for that long, so it surprised him. He usually only had to age down once every few months.

Eudora showed them towards the cell where they’d been keeping their little brother. “We’ve confiscated all his drugs, but luckily for him, he’s in headspace, so he can’t get in any real trouble.”

Diego sighed, relieved, before opening the cell door.

“Deego! Deego, hi!” Klaus mumbled excitedly, throwing himself at his brother.

“Hey, buddy. Can you tell me what you took?” Diego asked, and Klaus turned pale, shuffling his feet guiltily.

“Sorry, ‘m sorry, didn’ mean to…” The younger boy’s eyes filled with tears and he stared at the ground.

“Oh, honey, we know it’s not your fault. Big Klaus did it, didn’t he?” Allison signed a few papers that Eudora handed to her.

Klaus nodded. “Promise, was an accident, I don’t even like it. Makes my mouth tickly.”

“I understand. Let’s get you home, champ.” Diego picked him up piggyback-style and they went back to the car.

Once they got back home, Allison sat opposite Klaus on the sofa and faced him with an expression that made it clear what was about to happen, while not being threatening.

“Klaus, sweetie, I need you to tell me honestly about what happened back there. I’m not gonna be mad. I just wanna keep you safe.” Allison explained.

Klaus looked guilty again, and swallowed hard. “Uh, I- I got… got all big, a-and ran away. A-and big me ate s-smoke, an’ it made my head all fuzzy, an’ I went wittle again, an’ I- I stepped on a ladybug!” Tears welled up in his eyes. “A-an’ I tried to bring it back to alive, an’ it wouldn’t come b-back! An’ I made it all dead!”

Allison put her arms around the now sobbing boy, trying to comfort him. She’d have to give him a stern talking to once he aged up again- big Klaus was clearly hurting little Klaus.

“You said smoke? Did you see where the smoke was coming from?” Diego asked. ‘Smoke’ could have meant anything, from cigarettes to cocaine, or even meth.

“Y-yeah,” Klaus hiccupped, wiping his face with his sleeve. “Leafs.”

“Leaves? Thank fuck.” Diego breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn’t taken any hard drugs. 

“Diego! Watch your language around Klaus!” Allison scolded.

“Haha! FUCK!” Klaus yelled, clapping his hands.

“At least he’s in a better mood.” Vanya sighed, looking at her watch. “Well, I think it’s bedtime. You don’t wanna get all tired and cranky.”

Thankfully, Klaus didn’t seem to object to the idea of going to bed, so they checked that the coast was clear before ushering him upstairs.

“FUCK!” Klaus shouted again, looking very pleased with himself.

Luther ventured out into the corridor to see what all the noise was. “What’s going on?”

“FUCK!” Klaus pointed at Luther, shrieking with laughter.

“He’s really high.” Diego explained as Vanya and Allison hurried Klaus into his room. It was only half a lie.

“Hey, man, I wanted to talk to you.” Luther lowered his voice.

“What about?” Diego looked confused.

“Klaus told me about your, uh… secret. And I just wanted to say, I’m fine with all of that, you know? I accept you even if you’re a, um… a Little. You can talk to me any-”

“Luther.” Diego interrupted. “I’m not a Little.”

“You’re not?” Luther paused. “Ohh, I see…” He winked. “Yeah. Got it. Not a Little. But if you wanna talk-”

Diego rolled his eyes and pushed past his brother. Maybe he wouldn’t be so irritable if he tried to age down, but now that Luther thought he was a Little, he needed to stay big for as long as he could.  
Klaus had thankfully fallen asleep quickly- the process probably sped up by the weed still in his system. It was a cute sight to see him all tucked up in bed with Boo, his star-shaped nightlight glowing softly and “keeping the ghosts away” as Klaus had said it would.

Diego went to his own room, put his pyjamas on, and dialled Eudora’s number. She picked up almost immediately.

_“Hey, sweetheart. How’re you doing?”_

Diego smiled when he heard her voice. “Good.”

_“Ohh…”_

He frowned. “What’s wrong?”

_“That’s the voice of a tired little boy who doesn’t wanna age down because his mommy’s not here.”_

Diego sighed. “Sorry…”

_“It’s not your fault, sweetie. How about you tell me what you did today?”_

“Well, Klaus-”

_“Not what Klaus did, honey. It seems like your brother’s been getting a lot of attention recently. I wanna know what you did today.”_

Diego hesitated. “I… went to the store.” He said truthfully.

_“Did you get anything nice?”_

Diego smiled, feeling himself slip into littlespace quickly. “Yeah. I got all sorts of things, like, um… things for Klaus, mostly. But I’m gonna get some things for me tomorrow.”

_“Did you do anything else?”_

“Yeah, Mom made a chocolate cake, and I got to eat some of it, and I didn’t get any on my clothes, or the floor.” Diego said proudly. “Do I get a sticker?”

_“Sure! I’ll put one on the chart now.”_

“Can I see?” Diego asked.

_“I’m sending a picture.”_

Diego looked at the picture, feeling very pleased with himself. Ten whole stars. He was the best-behaved boy in the whole world.

“And how many is until twenty?” Diego asked, deciding that the maths was too difficult.

_“Another ten. You’re halfway there, baby boy.”_

Diego beamed. “Yay!”

_“Have you thought about what you wanna do for your reward?”_

“Hmm…” Diego thought hard. “Disneyland!”

He heard Eudora laugh sadly, and frowned. He’d thought it was a good idea.

_“I’m sorry, sweetie, I can’t take time off work to go to Disneyland. You could ask your siblings to take you if you really want to go.”_

Diego felt a sinking feeling in his tummy, and squirmed, not liking how he was feeling. “No, I wanna share my reward with you, Mommy.”

_“Aww… you’re so kind, Dee.”_

“When are you done with work?” Diego asked sadly.

_“Saturday.”_

“Do you promise you won’t let any baddies or robbers shoot you?” Diego fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, yawning.

_“I’ll try my best. But now I think it’s time for you to sleep, and stop thinking about all those baddies and robbers, okay?”_

“Okay.” Diego climbed into bed, pulling the sheets over him.

_“Such a good boy. Night night, Diego.”_

“Night, Mommy.” Diego closed his eyes, oblivious to the fact that Allison and Vanya were standing outside his door, silently ‘aww’ing.


End file.
